Bottle top with resilient attaching sleeve



March 4, 1969 A. MICROULIS BOTTLE TOP WITH RESILIENT ATTA CHING SLEEVE Filed Oct. .25, 1967 United States Patent 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An attachment for a bottle having a neck with an open mouth surrounded by an external lip on the neck, the attachment having a cap member which may be a pouring spout, closure, or shaker, and a resilient skirt on the member adapted to be snapped or rolled over the bottle neck to be secure and seal the cap member to the neck.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention This invention relates generally to bottles and more particularly to an attachment adapted for application over the neck of a bottle to provide a fluid sealing or dispensing action.

Prior art Bottle attachments of the general class to which this invention pertains are well known in the art. These attachments are applied to the neck of a bottle and are constructed and arranged to provide a fluid sealing and/or a fluid dispensing action. Bottle attachments of this type, for example, are disclosed in prior art Patents Nos. 1,447,117, 2,160,602, 2,546,194, 2,642,207, and 2,828,- 054. While these existing bottle attachments are satisfactory to a degree, they are characterized by certain inherent deficiencies which this invention seeks to avoid. Among the foremost of these deficiencies are complex construction, high cost, difliculty of application and removal, and undesirability from the sanitary standpoint.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a bottle attachment having a cap member proper adaped to be positioned across the mouth of a bottle in seating contact with the neck of the bottle lip, and a skirt secured to and extending from the cap member. This skirt is resilient and is constructed and arranged in such a way that the skirt may be snapped or rolled over the botle neck. When the attachment is properly applied to a bottle, the skirt serves the dual function of both mechanically attaching and sealing the cap member to the bottle neck.

According to the present invention, the cap member may be designed to serve any one of several different functions. In one disclosed embodiment of the invention, for example, the cap member is a pouring spout. In a second disclosed embodiment, the cap member is a closure. In a third disclosed embodiment, the cap member is a perforated shaker cap.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGURE .1 is a perspective view of a pouring attachment according to the invention illustrating the attachment applied to the neck of a bottle;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged section taken on line 2-2 in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a section taken on line 3-3 in FIG- URE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of the attachment skirt per se;

3,430,826 Patented Mar. 4, 1969 FIGURE 5 is a vertical section through a closure attachment according to the invention; and

FIGURE 6 is a vertical section through a shaker attachment according to the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In general terms, the invention provides an attachment, represented in FIGURES 1 through 3 by the pouring attachment 10, for a bottle 12 having a neck 14 with an open mouth 16 surrounded by an external lip 18 on the neck. The attachment 10 includes a cap member 20 and a skirt 22. The cap member 20 has normally upper and lower ends and is formed intermediate these ends with an external circumferential groove 24. The skirt 22 has upper and lower beaded ends and is fabricated of a suitable resilient material such as neoprene or other suitable plastic material. The upper beaded end of the skirt 22 surrounds the lower end of the cap member 20 and engages in the groove .24 in the member in such a way that the skirt is both mechanically secured and sealed to the cap member. The lower end of the skirt 22 extends beyond the lower end of the cap member.

According to the preferred practice of the invention, the attachment skirt 22 is constructed of a resilient material, such as neoprene, and is sized to permit application of the attachment 10 to the bottle 12 by forcing the skirt downwardly over the bottle lip 18 to the position of FIGURE 2, wherein the lower beaded end of the skirt snaps under the lip, as shown. According to an alternative practice of the invention, however, the skirt may be provided with a relatively thin wall, such that the skirt may be initially rolled upwardly toward the cap member 20 into the form of an annulus. In this instance, the attachment 10 is applied to the bottle 12 by placing the attachment over the bottle and then unrolling the attachment skirt =22 downwardly over the bottle neck 14 and lip 18 to the position of FIGURE 2.

As noted earlier, the bottle attachment of the invention may be designed to serve any one of several different functions. In FIGURES 1 through 3, for example, the cap member 20 of the illustrated bottle attachment 10 is a pouring spout. This spout has an upper curved neck 26 and a lower bottle seating flange 28. The skirt receiving groove 24 of the attachment is located at the juncture of the neck and flange. Extending centrally through the pouring spout neck 26, and opening through the underside of the spout flange 28, is a passage 30. Integrally formed on and depending from the underside of the flange 28 are a number of centering lugs 32. These lugs are circumferentially spaced about the axis of the spout and are radially dimensioned to engage the inner edge of the bottle neck 14, about the mouth 16, in such a way as to center the pouring spout 20 relative to the bottle neck.

The outer diameter of the spout flange 28 approximates the upper external diameter of the bottle neck 14. Accordingly, when the pouring spot 20 is applied to the bottle 12, the undersurface of the flange seats against the upper end of the bottle neck 14, about the mouth 16. The outer end of the flange is then substantially flush with the outer surface of the bottle lip 18. The attachment skirt 22 extends outwardly over and then axially beyond the spout flange 28.

The illustrated pouring spout 20 is equipped with a vent 34 to assure smooth pouring of liquid from the bottle 12. This vent comprises a vent tube 36 which is secured to the underside of the pouring spout 20 and extends downwardly toward the bottom of the bottle. In this instance, the upper end of the vent tube 36 is joined to one of the pouring spout centering lugs 32. Extending through the vent tube is a vent passage 38. One end of this passage opens through the lower end of the vent tube 36. The opposite end of the passage extends upwardly through the body of the pouring spout 20 and opens through a side of the spout, as shown, to communicate with atmosphere. When the bottle 12 is inverted to pour liquid from the bottle through the spout passage 30, air flow occurs into the upper end of the bottle above the liquid through the vent tube 36, thus to prevent the formation of a vacuum within the bottle.

FIGURES 5 and 6 illustrate two modified versions of the present bottle attachment. The modified bottle attachment 10a illustrated in FIGURE 5 is a closure attachment. In this instance, the cap member a of the attachment is a closure plug which is designed to seal the mouth 16 of the bottle 12 against leakage when the attachment is applied to the bottle neck 14. The bottle attachment 10b illustrated in FIGURE 6 is a shaker attachment. The cap member 20b of this attachment is similar to the closure plug 20a illustrated in FIGURE 5 except that the plug 20b is formed with a multiplicity of shaker passages 20b. It will be understood, of course, that the closure attachment of FIGURE 5 and shaker attachment of FIGURE 6 are applied to a bottle in the same manner as described earlier in connection with the pouring attachment 10 of FIGURES 1 through 3.

While the invention has been disclosed in connection with certain physical embodiments thereof, it will be recognized by those versed in the art that various modifications of the invention are possible within the spirit and scope of the following claims.

What is claimed as new in support of Letters Patent is: 1. An attachment for a bottle having a neck with an open mouth surrounded by an external lip on the neck, said attachment comprising:

a cap member to be positioned across said mouth in seating contact with the bottle neck about said mouth,

said cap member having normally upper and lower ends and an external circumferential groove between said ends,

a resilient generally sleeve-like skirt for attaching said cap member to said bottle, and

said skirt having a beaded upper end surrounding the lower end of said cap member and engaging in said groove to secure and seal said skirt to said cap member and a beaded normally lower end extending beyond the lower end of said cap member for application over said bottle neck and lip.

2. A bottle attachment according to claim 1 wherein:

the wall thickness and diameter of said skirt are sized to permit said skirt to be snapped over said bottle neck to a position wherein the lower beaded end of said skirt engages under said bottle lip.

3. A bottle attachment according to claim 1 wherein:

said skirt has a relatively thin wall, such that said lower skirt end may be initially rolled up into the form of an annulus and then unrolled over said bottle neck.

4. A bottle attachment according to claim 1 wherein:

said cap member is a closure for sealing said bottle mouth.

5. A bottle attachment according to claim 1 wherein:

said cap member is a perforated shaker cap.

6. A bottle attachment according to claim 1 wherein:

said cap member is a pouring spout having a dispensing passage opening through the ends of said spout, and a vent tube secured to the lower end of said spout for extension through said bottle to the lower end thereof.

7. A bottle attachment according to claim 6 wherein:

said spout has a lower flange below said groove for seating against said bottle neck about said mouth, and

centering lugs depending from the underside of said flange for engaging the inner edge of said neck about said mouth to center said spout relative to said mouth.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,393,578 1/1946 Waite 215-41 2,605,937 8/1952 Bradley 222-57O X 3,164,280 1/1965 Ford 2l579 STANLEY H. TOLLBERG, Primary Examiner.

U.S. Cl. X.R. 

